One in Four Cars Sold Globally Is an Electric Vehicle

Electric vehicle adoption continues to accelerate worldwide, reaching new milestones in 2025. According to the IEA Global EV Outlook 2026, published on May 20, global sales of electric cars, including plug-in hybrids, surpassed 21 million units last year, more than doubling since 2022, when annual sales first exceeded 10 million.

As our chart shows, EVs now account for roughly one in four passenger car sales globally, meaning their market share climbed to 25 percent in 2025, up from just 2 percent in 2018. This rapid growth has been driven largely by China, which remains by far the largest market. With more than 13 million electric vehicles sold in 2025, the country alone accounted for around 60 percent of global sales.

While adoption has also increased steadily in the rest of the world, with nearly 8 million units sold – largely in Europe and the United States – the data highlight China’s dominant role in shaping the global EV market.